A 27-year-old Nashville woman will spend several years in federal prison after federal officials say she sold crack cocaine in Spring Hope and Rocky Mount.

Sade Shana Holland, also known as “Sharde Richardson,” was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, inside a Raleigh federal courtroom on Thursday.

Holland was named in a six-count indictment in April and faced charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 28 grams of crack; possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of a quantity of crack; and possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of 28 grams or more of crack, according to federal prosecutors.

Holland pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge, officials said.

THE CASE

Between June 20, 2017 and Aug. 14, 2017, officers used a cooperating witnesses to make six crack-cocaine purchases from Holland, according to the investigation.

In January, Dunston was charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack for his role in the conspiracy with Holland, officials said.

Dunston pleaded guilty to that charge and was sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison in June, followed by five years of supervised release.

The Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which was prosecuted in federal court through the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina initiative.

The initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and district attorneys’ offices on a sustained basis in eastern North Carolina communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking and crimes against law enforcement, officials say.